


Conversation and Something More

by Rikerbabe



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-20
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-03-31 09:12:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3972340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikerbabe/pseuds/Rikerbabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>William and Guinan have a talk in Ten-Forward, which leads them both down a path they have taken before, but not with each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [miloowen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miloowen/gifts).



> This was an afterthought by a friend and fellow writer who had commented on an earlier work of mine. This has been in the back of my mind for a while now and was demanding to be written. Comments and suggestions are welcomed by all!

Ten-Forward was empty when Will came in, having just come off duty. Guinan was wiping down the bar surface, with a small smile on her lips. He smiled and walked over, and she glanced at him. “The usual?” she asked, reaching below the bar for his reserved bottle of 150 year old Scotch. “No, not tonight. Is there something you could suggest?” He replied, sliding onto the bar seat. “Hmm....I do have a bottle of Romulan Ale. Fair warning is given, if you want some.” She replied, reaching for the bottle of Ale. Will chuckled “Guinan, since when have I not heeded your advice?” Guinan shook her head and poured him a half-full glass of the Ale. He picked it up and slowly swirled the contents, lost in a thought. Guinan leaned onto the bar and smiled at him. “Are you going to drink it or watch it swirl in the glass?” she said, a playful look in her eyes. Will took a drink and coughed “I don't remember it being this strong!” “Uh huh.......or you're just not used to it.” Guinan moved from behind the bar and got closer to Will.

Will pushed the glass away from him, and turned to Guinan. “Trying something?” he asked, with a teasing look in his eyes. “No, no Commander...you just looked like you needed something different this time around.” Guinan answered, studying him the way she always did when someone needed to talk. He smiled, his blue eyes brightening up a bit. Hell, he'd been in a rather dark mood and just needed to be by himself for a bit. Guinan motioned towards his table and they both walked over. “So, what's wrong with you today? Captain Picard got on to you about something? You have the expression that a husband of mine had when he thought the world would end.” Guinan had been married at least thirty times (or so the ship's scuttlebutt said) but never really talked about any of them before.Will said nothing, but pulled out a chair for her and then sat next to her. “No, it's not about Jean-Luc. In fact it's about....”here he trailed off as she smiled softly. “Then what's wrong with YOU?” she asked, leaning in slightly towards him. Sighing, he also leaned in “It's Deanna....she's seeing Worf and it's just.....” Again he trailed off, his features clouding up a bit. “It's hard, isn't it? Seeing them together?” Guinan asked, as gently as she could. “Yes, Guinan...it is...” Will answered, staring at the table top. “I always thought that we had enough time, but I guess not.” He sighed, and looked up at her “What else can I do but accept a promotion and leave the Enterprise? I don't think I can serve here and see them everyday.” 

Guinan slowly nodded “OK...you accept the promotion and then you do like what you've always done before, Will. Run away from what ever hurts you.” He glanced up at her sharply. “What are you talking about?” he said, anger showing in his voice “I've never ran from anything before.” She smiled “Yes, you have. You ran from Deanna on Betazed, before. You have a habit of doing that. My ninth husband was so much like you. He ran from me on at least two occasions. But we ended up having a wonderful eighty-four year marriage.”Will's look was one of shock but he composed himself. “Hang on a bit, I've got a few customers.” She rose from the table and headed back to the bar. A few from Engineering had come in from their shift and were laughing at something. Will's attention was focused on Guinan as he watched her serve them and motioned them towards a section of the bar that wasn't being used.

After a few minuets, she returned to the table, with two glasses of something in her hands. Will looked a bit wary, but accepted his glass when she handed it to him. “It's nothing vile, Will. It's an old Earth drink, Cranberry Juice. It's good for several ailments, and it's something different. Try it, you might like it.” With that, she took a drink of the juice and Will followed suit. It was tart and tangy, and Guinan was right...it was something different. Will spoke up “There's a poetry reading tomorrow night...would you like to accompany me? Guinan smiled “Yes, I think I would. Thank you for asking me.”

Will smiled and leaned back, watching her with a slight twinkle in his eyes. Whatever mood he was in before he came here, it was gone. Perhaps he found a new friend or something more in Guinan. Perhaps in time he would discover that answer to his unspoken questions.


	2. Decisions to make

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Guinan have further thoughts about each other, which leaves them wondering how best to proceed in this possible new friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this trying to see how either one of them wanted to further their new friendship, where it turn out to be just friendship or a possible romance. It's my understanding that by the 24th century, there's no "shaming" (lack of a better term) of a romance that entails two people of different races. Guinan is there to help Will with his hidden pain and in turn, he helps her remember a few of the former husbands that she once loved.
> 
> Suggestions and comments are welcomed.....don't be shy, I won't bite :)

After leaving Guinan and returning to his quarters, Will sat down at his desk intending to read over the reports from the astrophysics lab but found his thoughts wandering back to his conversation with Guinan. Perhaps she had been right about his running away from Deanna, from any really serious relationship. Guinan was wise, caring and had a sense of humor that he really didn't notice before. She was the one who tried to help Data understand humor, helped Ro understand her feelings about her past and her relationship with the others was one of an old trusted friend. Hell, she had made him laugh and told him a few jokes that was only heard inside of the Enlisted bars. But there was something that was real between them. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it was a feeling that somehow she was meant to be here on the Enterprise.

He sighed and returned to his PADD which he studied and neatly tucked those thoughts of Guinan in a special place in his mind. There would be enough time to dissect those thoughts at a later date. Right now, he had to read the reports and forward them on to Captain Picard in the morning. _Duty first_ he thought _Those thoughts later_.

Guinan was talking to one of the regulars at the bar and momentarily glanced up at the ceiling. She had “heard” his thoughts as if she was a Betazoid herself. Smiling, she turned her attention back to the young Lieutenant who was having a bad case of homesickness. After he left to join a few friends at one of the tables, she turned her thoughts back to Will and a small smile played about her lips. When she had first come on board, he was one of the last ones she had come to know. He stayed mostly to himself when he came in, unless Deanna or Geordi was here. She had found out that he had a rough start in life, losing his mother when he was only two and his father was very distant with him. Being abandoned when he was just 15 was also hard on him, but he didn't seem to miss his father at all.

Deanna had mentioned a few things about Will, nothing that a friend couldn't tell another friend. Like Deanna, she also listened to people and gave sage advice. Sometimes she referred them to others who could help them more than she could. Her people were wise beyond their years and experiences, but when the Borg came and ravaged their home world, they scattered throughout the galaxy. She had lost many friends and several of her former husbands to the Borg and knew first hand about the pain of being alone. She also saw the caring side of Will that few of the others did, including Deanna. That part of him attracted her, and she had never felt that way about any of the husbands she had. Turning back to the bar, she walked over to a pair from Exobiology who had wandered in and put her thoughts back to her patrons putting her thoughts about Will on hold.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both William and Guinan reflect on a growing mutual feeling for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought that this would be a start of the turning point in their new found relationship. He's thinking of something and she's got something of her own going....who knows where I'll take them......
> 
> Again,sounding like a broken record, any comments, suggestions, gripes, etc are welcomed! Don't be shy, I won't bite.......I promise! (I've had all my shots!)

Will finished reading the reports and got ready for bed. Sleep usually came swiftly to him, but tonight it didn't. He kept thinking of Guinan and what she said to him earlier. Running was his way of ending a relationship that he felt was getting too serious. There was many times that it did happen like that, and he really never felt bad about the results. But as time went on, he tried to maintain a relationship with out feeling the need to run to end it. Now with Deanna and Worf being together, it hurt..a lot. Lately he was avoiding Ten-Forward, and just returning to his quarters or going to the gym when his shifts were over.

He hated the fact that they were together, but they were grown adults and knew what they were doing. Deanna and Worf were also keeping out of sight, perhaps to spare his feelings. He sighed and changed into his pajama bottoms and pulled the sheets down. Slipping into bed, he stared at the ceiling and was still thinking of Guinan. Her wisdom was vast and usually spot on. He knew that Jean-Luc was an old friend and perhaps something more long ago, and that didn't bother him. Sighing, he turned over and tried to sleep. Perhaps in the morning he would finish formulating something that was brewing in the back of his mind. He smiled as he drifted off to sleep, thinking about her.

Guinan wiped down the bar again and looked around the now-empty Ten-Forward. She nodded to the two of her staff that was left and walked over to the windows. Looking out, she smiled to herself. Will was still on her mind and the feeling she got was that she was on his mind as well. She hadn't thought of anyone the way she was thinking of Will, and it was a mild surprise to her. He reminded her of not just her ninth husband, but of several of them. He was quiet, a bit shy and had a wonderful sense of humor that few saw. His gentle nature was unseen, but it was there. Guinan turned away from the windows and left for her quarters, nodding to the two who were prepping for the next day's shift. The ship was quiet and that made her smile a bit more. The crew would be in a rather happy mood for the next few days at least. Ten-Forward would be busy as always and she would be there to listen and give advice as usual.


End file.
